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Search efforts to resume for missing National Guard pilot

JET CRASH: U.S. Air National Guard Col. James Keefe, commander of the 104th Fighter Wing, takes questions from reporters in front of Barnes Air National Guard Base, in Westfield, Mass., Wednesday, Aug. 27 about a crashed Massachusetts Air National Guard F-15C fighter. An experienced pilot on a standard maintenance mission was missing Wednesday after his fighter jet crashed in the mountains of western Virginia. Photo: Associated Press/Steven Senne

Spokeswoman Corinne Geller says Thursday that ground search efforts will resume at 8 a.m. for the missing pilot. She said those efforts were suspended at midnight.

Officials say the pilot and jet are with the 104th Fighter Wing of the Massachusetts Air National Guard, which issued a statement Thursday morning saying the search was expanding with additional Air Force resources.

Officials haven’t yet said what caused the crash or whether the pilot ejected.

The crash occurred around 9 a.m. Wednesday and several local residents reported hearing three loud booms.